← Back to SKIP ↑ Master Index NEXT (main ring) →

EXTRA on Lech Lecha 13:4

EXTRA · Classic midrash (return to the first altar) · Parashas Lech Lecha · Passuk 13:4

Complete Passuk

אֶל־מְקוֹם֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥שָׂה שָׁ֖ם בָּרִאשֹׁנָ֑ה וַיִּקְרָ֥א שָׁ֛ם אַבְרָ֖ם בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָֽה׃

to the site of the altar that he had built there at first; and there Avram invoked Hashem by name.

Source

Classic midrash (return to the first altar)

Core Text

Core Text
אֶל מְקוֹם הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה שָׁם בָּרִאשֹׁנָה — חָזַר לְמָקוֹם תְּפִלָּתוֹ הָרִאשׁוֹנָה. לִמֵּד שֶׁהַקְּבִיעוּת בְּמָקוֹם הַתְּפִלָּה חֲבִיבָה.

English: To the site of the altar that he had made there at first — he returned to the place of his first prayer. This teaches that fixedness in the place of prayer is beloved.

On the daf / in context: After Egypt, Avraham does not invent a new sacred geography; he returns to the first altar and again calls on the Name. The continuity of place anchors the continuity of avodah.
Type of Learning: Custom (return to first altar)
What Is Learned: Spiritual recovery after a foreign sojourn is marked by returning to the original site of calling on Hashem, not by starting over elsewhere.

Supplementary classical material not listed by Torah Temimah under this exact passuk.

← Back to SKIP ↑ Master Index NEXT (main ring) →